I listened to the audio version of The Wind through the Keyhole, narrated by the author himself, which I think made it that little bit more special because Stephen King has one of those voices in more ways than one, that demands your attention as if you’re listening to a master story-teller. Which you definitely are.

The Wind through the Keyhole is a nail-biting story about the trials and tribulations of a young boy named Tim Ross, told to Roland by his mother as a young boy.

Roland & his Ka-tet are forced to hold up for a time when a starkblast storm decimates the path they travel and the gunslinger recounts an adventure from his younger days when he and Jamie DeCurry are sent to the small town Debaria to investigate and catch a Skin-man or Skin changer, terrorizing the community.

A young boy barely escapes the Skin-man and Roland, more to comfort him, tells him the sad but gripping tale of The Wind through the Keyhole. In which young Tim is faced with tragedy, changing circumstance and the life changing visit of the Covenant Man. The Covenant Man is a man we’ve all met before, a man of magic and he sets Tim on a path where he will face danger, revelation and the makings of a man, a gunslinger.

So I guess this tale is a story within a story during a brief interlude in the main story, took some time to think about but how else could you describe it. This could easily be read as a stand-alone, it doesn’t interrupt any story arcs but rather enhances the whole Dark Tower experience. And I do like stories of Roland’s younger days.

I am now 15 books into my target of reading the vast majority of the King’s work, which by my count is 66 books including collections. Now that’s a challenge worth doing.